A printing press typically has printing cylinders which are driven by intermeshing gears. The gears are located in a gear case which encloses the gears. The gears are lubricated by a suitable lubricating fluid such as oil. The oil is pumped from a reservoir at the bottom of the gear case to the top of the gear case. The oil is then splattered onto the gears to lubricate the gears.
The gear case includes a main housing portion and an access cover. A sealing material such as a gasket is disposed between the main housing portion and the access cover to provide fluid sealing engagement. The access cover is routinely removed to provide accessibility to parts within the gear case so that maintenance or repair can be performed. The access cover is replaced after service is completed.
The fluid sealing effectiveness of the gasket between the main housing portion and the access cover may be lessened each time the access cover is removed and replaced. If the fluid sealing effectiveness of the gasket is lessened, then oil leaks may develop between the main housing portion and the access cover resulting in oil loss from the gear case. If oil leaks from the gear case, an undesirable puddle of oil forms outside of the gear case. Also, from time to time, new oil must be added to replace the oil which leaked from the gear case. It is desirable to prevent such oil leaks from the gear case.